So, Belize is a really hip place! After crossing the border in great fashion, i.e. smoking a spliff on the bridge into the country and heading directly for the Casino, we went and stayed in Corozal for a night so we could take a ferry to Caye Caulker in the morning. They ferry ride was about three hours total, but we eventually made it to the small island (which was split in half by a hurricane) known as Caye Caulker.
Caye Caulker is small, and full of the typical Caribbean Rastafari. It's not hard to get pot here, and we found some in about five minutes. After having a couple spliffs and checking out the swimming spot, we found the happy hour bars. Now, the first night was fun, but it wasn't anything compared to the second night when we really got our bearings!
The second night we met up with some people we new from Tulum. We had a few beers at a bar, got some dinner, and went to the supermarket to buy a thirty-pack and proceed to wake up everyone in our hotel. After being chastised for the the aforementioned, we walked down a pier that had all these cushions set up for people to sit on. It was a great place to hang out and we consumed the rest of our beer to the sound of ocean water and guitar. Dave finished off the spirits, and in no time was crawling towards whatever girl was closest, or whatever was closest to a girl, until he turned completely ridiculous. When I say that about someone, you know it's bad. I think he was running back to the hotel to roll a spliff, but he didn't make it quite that far. In fact, he only made it about twenty feet or so before he careened off the pier and into the water, and then make a blind grab for the pier in the waist deep water. I wasn't going to help him, but one of the girls, Matilda, went over and I knew that if she tried to get him up she would end up in the drink too. Me and Australian Dave went over and pulled him out of the water, scraping him up the dock in the process. After coming out of the water, he insisted on hanging out while wet even though the wind was blowing and he was freezing. After talking him into leaving, the Australians (Dave and Niel) escorted him back in to the Hotel. It was late by that point, and the booze was gone, so we all decided to head in soon after.
When we got back to the hotel, and next to the room that Dave and the Australians were sharing, we thought we heard running water. Now, since our rooms don't have running water of any sort, we found this to be odd. Upon entering, we found Dave, cock in hand, pissing off the end of his bed on to the wall. We weren't that shocked because of the state he was in, but it did open the doors to a whole lot of fun! I brought out my video camera and electric shaver, and got to work. Well, now Dave is minus his dignity and one of his eyebrows. I was so fucked the night before that I didn't remember shaving his eyebrow, and when I saw him in the morning, I asked "What happened to your eyebrow?" to which he replied "Oh, nothing. I just put a bit of water on it." I then claimed that it was just the lighting that made me think there was something wrong, and he couldn't tell because there are no mirrors anywhere on this island! He eventually found out what had happened, saw the videos, and went through the gamut of emotions. But, it worked out well in the end and we all had a good laugh about it.
I'm thinking about putting the videos up on Youtube, and I'll put the address in this post when I do.
Edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f74lK3tSM1Y Enjoy :)
Cheers mates,
Seamus
domingo, 25 de febrero de 2007
Snorkeling in Tulum
I said a lot about Tulum and the activities that go on there in a previous post, but I didn't elaborate on my favorite part: the beach!
The beach in Tulum, or six kilometers away rather, is impeccable. There are Mayan ruins on the water, miles of the finest white sand beach I've seen since Costa Rica, and Cabanas, bars, and water activities everywhere! I chose snorkeling, because about one hundred meters out you can see the waves lapping over the reef which forms a barrier to the Caribbean. Usually, they charge twenty or twenty-five dollars, but some guy offered us a two hour trip to two different sections of the reef for fifteen US! I have to say that it's been my favorite trip so far, because the reef was an actual reef, instead of just random splotches of coral on the bottom of the sea. I saw so many different kinds of fish and coral, and would swim down and through schools of fish and structures of coral. I was surprised to see as many Sea Urchins as I did, and how big they actually are in the wild. We didn't see any turtles, but that's alright because they are somewhat elusive when it's not mating season.
Well, I'm in Belize as I write this, but I haven't been out snorkeling yet. I plan to go tomorrow or the next day before I go back to Mexico for the remainder of my trip. Well, wish me luck and I promise not to get into too much trouble!
Seamus
The beach in Tulum, or six kilometers away rather, is impeccable. There are Mayan ruins on the water, miles of the finest white sand beach I've seen since Costa Rica, and Cabanas, bars, and water activities everywhere! I chose snorkeling, because about one hundred meters out you can see the waves lapping over the reef which forms a barrier to the Caribbean. Usually, they charge twenty or twenty-five dollars, but some guy offered us a two hour trip to two different sections of the reef for fifteen US! I have to say that it's been my favorite trip so far, because the reef was an actual reef, instead of just random splotches of coral on the bottom of the sea. I saw so many different kinds of fish and coral, and would swim down and through schools of fish and structures of coral. I was surprised to see as many Sea Urchins as I did, and how big they actually are in the wild. We didn't see any turtles, but that's alright because they are somewhat elusive when it's not mating season.
Well, I'm in Belize as I write this, but I haven't been out snorkeling yet. I plan to go tomorrow or the next day before I go back to Mexico for the remainder of my trip. Well, wish me luck and I promise not to get into too much trouble!
Seamus
sábado, 24 de febrero de 2007
A Little Story...
...about getting weed in Mexico.
Dave, Dan and I found it very hard to purchase anything illegal on a Sunday. This was probably due to the fact that every single store closes on Sunday, but we were purchasing from "merchants." We wound up walking into the night, talking amongst ourselves about what we had and what we wished we could find. It's fine to talk about it, but when you're seriously looking for a place, and when your friend points at the police station behind you and says "Maybe they have some," it can be a bit edgy. Obviously the next place to try was the auto parts store, but upon entering it Dan was immediately called out for doing so. After looking for a fat man in a hammock shop for about an hour we eventually got some. To all who may need to know, restaurants are the best bet.
Dave, Dan and I found it very hard to purchase anything illegal on a Sunday. This was probably due to the fact that every single store closes on Sunday, but we were purchasing from "merchants." We wound up walking into the night, talking amongst ourselves about what we had and what we wished we could find. It's fine to talk about it, but when you're seriously looking for a place, and when your friend points at the police station behind you and says "Maybe they have some," it can be a bit edgy. Obviously the next place to try was the auto parts store, but upon entering it Dan was immediately called out for doing so. After looking for a fat man in a hammock shop for about an hour we eventually got some. To all who may need to know, restaurants are the best bet.
martes, 20 de febrero de 2007
Tulum
Tulum is a place full of touristy activities. You're really supposed to do them, and that is the draw of the town. The seaside ruins are a must-see, the nature reserve and Punta Allen to the south is supposed to be heavenly, and a day trip to the ruins at Coba is a no-brainer. Now, if you walk into the hostel, meet some cool people with similar interests, and drink for six straight days, you might not have the time to really take it all in. Well, you take the weed all in, but not much else.
For the past six days, I've pretty much settled into a strict routine; bus, beach, bus, bar, taxi, hostel, spliff, sleep. It's honestly been grueling and I don't think I can take much more. I met a couple of English guys, Dan and Dave (no relation), and we've been hanging out every night seeing who can drink more. There are a couple of bars in town, and the beach is six kilometers away, so we mostly stayed in town. The bar called "Akubar" has live music from Thursday to Sunday, and always has this awesome local reggae band. I'm not the hugest reeggae fan, but the guitar riffs and melodies they come up with are awesome, and the drummer plays perfectly with the music. The night before last, on Sunday, they had their dos-anos party and there were six bands that played! We only saw three, but they were all good. I was really into the first two, but the last one changed the tone as they were a salsa band. The place was packed (they even ran out of beer), so there was no room for anyone to actually dance to salsa, which is half of the experience for me. It was a fun night, and we ended up back at the hostel and woke everyone up. This old Mexican couple actually came out three times! The third time, Dave, who speaks no Spanish, was left to talk to her. Dave just listened to her ramble in Spanish, and basically said "Si. Si. Adios." It was probably the funniest thing I've ever heard.
We also went to a nice party at a bar on the beach, and actually rented a Cabaña to stay in. We bought a bunch of food beforehand, and made a fire in a pit we had seen earlier at the Cabañas. We cooked Arrachera Fajitas, which turned out to be the best Mexican food any of us had eaten in Mexico. We then went to Mezzanine, and had a good time due to the good hip-hop and English electronic music that was being played. We got really drunk, Dan stole Dave's sheet and Dave thought it was me, and then I watched the sunrise. Good times.
The night before Mezzanine, we went to the bar immediately across the street, and were quite happy until we found out the bar had a bitchy owner. It was a Colombian lady, mid-thirties and pretty, and she was very unimpressed with my behaviour. A swedish guy we had met, Bas, was talking to me when he accidentally knocked the beer bottle out of my hands. When I looked over at the bar owner, she exclaimed "Bravo" and made me pay vente pesos for the broken bottle. I was seriously considering breaking another bottle and placing a vente on the table. Unimpressed with her actions, we left and I went back and played guitar for the people at the hostel.
This turned into a regular occurrence, and I played for three nights with everyone around listening. It's fun to play for people, especially Israelis. They get drunk and just start singing in these thick accents, like one named Tal I met, and it always turns into a good time. People who stay at hostels can be really really cool, and the one here in Tulum has been one of my favorites. I've met a lot of people here, and am actually going to travel with the English guy Dan into Belize. We are also meeting people from Tulum who are already there, and are hoping they can give us some pointers on the cheap places to stay and eat!
That's all for now, I went snorkeling (which I'll write about next time) all day and need a spliff and a hammock.
Hasta la pasta,
Seamus
For the past six days, I've pretty much settled into a strict routine; bus, beach, bus, bar, taxi, hostel, spliff, sleep. It's honestly been grueling and I don't think I can take much more. I met a couple of English guys, Dan and Dave (no relation), and we've been hanging out every night seeing who can drink more. There are a couple of bars in town, and the beach is six kilometers away, so we mostly stayed in town. The bar called "Akubar" has live music from Thursday to Sunday, and always has this awesome local reggae band. I'm not the hugest reeggae fan, but the guitar riffs and melodies they come up with are awesome, and the drummer plays perfectly with the music. The night before last, on Sunday, they had their dos-anos party and there were six bands that played! We only saw three, but they were all good. I was really into the first two, but the last one changed the tone as they were a salsa band. The place was packed (they even ran out of beer), so there was no room for anyone to actually dance to salsa, which is half of the experience for me. It was a fun night, and we ended up back at the hostel and woke everyone up. This old Mexican couple actually came out three times! The third time, Dave, who speaks no Spanish, was left to talk to her. Dave just listened to her ramble in Spanish, and basically said "Si. Si. Adios." It was probably the funniest thing I've ever heard.
We also went to a nice party at a bar on the beach, and actually rented a Cabaña to stay in. We bought a bunch of food beforehand, and made a fire in a pit we had seen earlier at the Cabañas. We cooked Arrachera Fajitas, which turned out to be the best Mexican food any of us had eaten in Mexico. We then went to Mezzanine, and had a good time due to the good hip-hop and English electronic music that was being played. We got really drunk, Dan stole Dave's sheet and Dave thought it was me, and then I watched the sunrise. Good times.
The night before Mezzanine, we went to the bar immediately across the street, and were quite happy until we found out the bar had a bitchy owner. It was a Colombian lady, mid-thirties and pretty, and she was very unimpressed with my behaviour. A swedish guy we had met, Bas, was talking to me when he accidentally knocked the beer bottle out of my hands. When I looked over at the bar owner, she exclaimed "Bravo" and made me pay vente pesos for the broken bottle. I was seriously considering breaking another bottle and placing a vente on the table. Unimpressed with her actions, we left and I went back and played guitar for the people at the hostel.
This turned into a regular occurrence, and I played for three nights with everyone around listening. It's fun to play for people, especially Israelis. They get drunk and just start singing in these thick accents, like one named Tal I met, and it always turns into a good time. People who stay at hostels can be really really cool, and the one here in Tulum has been one of my favorites. I've met a lot of people here, and am actually going to travel with the English guy Dan into Belize. We are also meeting people from Tulum who are already there, and are hoping they can give us some pointers on the cheap places to stay and eat!
That's all for now, I went snorkeling (which I'll write about next time) all day and need a spliff and a hammock.
Hasta la pasta,
Seamus
miércoles, 14 de febrero de 2007
Cozumel Continued
Later on in the night of my previous entry, I met two Swedish girls that I originally met in Isla Mujeres, Moa and Sophie. They saw me as I was leaving "Casa Denis," where I had dinner, and we talked for a bit and decided to go hang out at their hotel. Their hotel was way cooler than mine, and Sophie made Spaghetti Cabonara and we ate and had a beer. We made fun of the stupid ass dating shows on MTV, listened to music, and then I went and made plans to get dinner and drinks the following day.
I went snorkeling after eating more waffles, this time with a tour on a glass-bottom boat. It was pretty cool, although a bit cheesy. There were plenty of fish, but it was only because the guide was feeding them that they would come around. I put together the reason that the fish had come up to me on (and bit me!) the previous day, and it had to be because they expected food. I did manage to see some 30+ pound parrot fish, which were amazing, and learned how to blow Os underwater. After I was done chasing fish around the three reefs we went to, I got an arrachera (skirt steak) sandwich and walked back to my hotel for a nap.
On the way, I found the guitar shop I had seen a few days prior and stopped in. They were selling guitars for sixty dollars, and I bought one so I wouldn't be missing it anymore! It isn't the best guitar, but it works and is definitely better than no guitar. I played for a while, took a nap, and waited for the girls to come get me for dinner.
At around seven, they came knocking, and we went out in search of a good place to get some authentic Mexican food. Along the way, they had to be females and wanted to stop in what seemed like every shop. I would have been very annoyed, but one of the merchants told us of a good, cheap, authentic place to go and it turned out to be the best food I've had on this trip. After dinner, we went to one of the "two for one" bars and had a few drinks and a couple more shots of Tequila; and this was a perfect moment to start talking about politics! We debated and argued for a couple of hours, and didn't even kill eachother! It was actually a good time, and we all understood eachother's ideas and opinions very well. All in all, a good night with some good company!
That's pretty much it for Cozumel. I made my way to Tulum today, my last stop before Belize, and I hope to see the ruins and find a place to stay on the beach tomorrow.
Hope all is well with everyone,
Seamus
I went snorkeling after eating more waffles, this time with a tour on a glass-bottom boat. It was pretty cool, although a bit cheesy. There were plenty of fish, but it was only because the guide was feeding them that they would come around. I put together the reason that the fish had come up to me on (and bit me!) the previous day, and it had to be because they expected food. I did manage to see some 30+ pound parrot fish, which were amazing, and learned how to blow Os underwater. After I was done chasing fish around the three reefs we went to, I got an arrachera (skirt steak) sandwich and walked back to my hotel for a nap.
On the way, I found the guitar shop I had seen a few days prior and stopped in. They were selling guitars for sixty dollars, and I bought one so I wouldn't be missing it anymore! It isn't the best guitar, but it works and is definitely better than no guitar. I played for a while, took a nap, and waited for the girls to come get me for dinner.
At around seven, they came knocking, and we went out in search of a good place to get some authentic Mexican food. Along the way, they had to be females and wanted to stop in what seemed like every shop. I would have been very annoyed, but one of the merchants told us of a good, cheap, authentic place to go and it turned out to be the best food I've had on this trip. After dinner, we went to one of the "two for one" bars and had a few drinks and a couple more shots of Tequila; and this was a perfect moment to start talking about politics! We debated and argued for a couple of hours, and didn't even kill eachother! It was actually a good time, and we all understood eachother's ideas and opinions very well. All in all, a good night with some good company!
That's pretty much it for Cozumel. I made my way to Tulum today, my last stop before Belize, and I hope to see the ruins and find a place to stay on the beach tomorrow.
Hope all is well with everyone,
Seamus
lunes, 12 de febrero de 2007
Snorkeling in Cozumel
Snorkeling is awesome here. I walked right to the waffle house and had some waffles, and noticed some snorkeling gear hanging off the side of a building. I asked the guy what was up with it, and he said that for six bucks, I could go out for two and a half hours. They were offering guides, but I just went out by myself to see what I could see.
The water was from fifteen to thirty feet deep, and instead of coral there was mostly remnants from when Hurricane Juarez hit here a couple of years ago. While not as beautiful to us humans, the fish seemed to love the rubble! It wasn't teaming with sea life in this area, but it was still awesome to swim near a school of fish, which would immediately surround and inspect you. Most of the fish were small, with yellow and black stripes, but in all there were about seven or eight different kinds of fish. I think one of the small striped ones actually bit me when I turned my back on it, and I made sure not to do that again. I snorkeled for about an hour, and swam a couple hundred meters before I got bored and hung up the fins. When I was rinsing in the fresh water shower, these local chicas were pretending to film me with their video camera. I felt like a model, and then mooned them. Well, I didn't moon them, but I wanted to.
That's all for now, but I just had to get my first sunny day snorkeling experience out there because it was such a blast for me. Lifted my spirits tenfold.
Adios Muchachos,
Seamus
The water was from fifteen to thirty feet deep, and instead of coral there was mostly remnants from when Hurricane Juarez hit here a couple of years ago. While not as beautiful to us humans, the fish seemed to love the rubble! It wasn't teaming with sea life in this area, but it was still awesome to swim near a school of fish, which would immediately surround and inspect you. Most of the fish were small, with yellow and black stripes, but in all there were about seven or eight different kinds of fish. I think one of the small striped ones actually bit me when I turned my back on it, and I made sure not to do that again. I snorkeled for about an hour, and swam a couple hundred meters before I got bored and hung up the fins. When I was rinsing in the fresh water shower, these local chicas were pretending to film me with their video camera. I felt like a model, and then mooned them. Well, I didn't moon them, but I wanted to.
That's all for now, but I just had to get my first sunny day snorkeling experience out there because it was such a blast for me. Lifted my spirits tenfold.
Adios Muchachos,
Seamus
Seamus Uno, Insectos Nada
So I've been in rainy Cozumel for a four days now, and I'm just now writing about my experiences, however lacking they might be. I only say this because it has been slightly lackluster compared to my expectations, and i'm bored and slightly depressed about it.
For one, it has been rainy, and when it's not rainy it's cloudy. It clears up, sort of, for about two hours each day and you have to make the best of it or wait until tomorrow. I have been having a bit of fun, though, and it hasn't been entirely bad.
The first night I was here, I was looking to meet a few people. It's hard to meet people here, because there are only hotels and no hostels where travelers congregate. I did manage to meet a group of people from Minnesota, because everyone here is from Minnesota. They were a kind of older group, mid-thirties and above, but I shot the shit with a guy who was cool and reminded me of my friend Nate I had met on my travels in Costa Rica. That was the height of my night, and I passed out watching TV in my hotel room later on.
The next day, I rented a scooter. It costs twenty five bucks, but I paid for all the insurance options, which I didn't need, to save myself the possibility of a hassle and ended up paying forty bucks total. I had a blast on it, even though it would only get up to 80km an hour (trust me, I tried to get it to go faster). I went half way around the island, stopping at a couple of beaches and having a hamburger along the way. I couldn't go all the way around the island, because the only way led to a wet sand road which the moped could not drive on (once again, I tried, and it was a little scary). On the way back, it got really dark as there were no streetlights on the road. It was a newly built road, but there were rocks set up in certain parts to keep cars driving on it, which I had to dodge. I also had to dodge crabs and small insects. The crabs were pretty damn big, but the insects were the really scary part. It's one thing driving at 60km per hour and feeling the little bugs hit you, which stings, but when a something huge smacks you in the side, you think it's something like a bat or a bird or something. I was yelling into the night for thirty seconds before I turned around to find whatever it was that I had bowled over. It turned out to be a huge moth, still laying unconscious in the road, and I snapped some pictures of the beast after proclaiming "You got the fuck knocked out!" I then continued down the road, dodging crabs and rocks when it happened again! at this point I decided to get the hell out of there and go a bit more slowly. I only stopped one more time, to chase a particularly gnarly crab and to take some video of these fireflys I had seen, and then went home and had a shower.
Later on that night, I went out in search of dollar beers. I ended up meeting some locals, who tried to sell me cocaine. I refused, and told them about the coke in Costa Rica, which is ten dollars a gram and pure as snow. The guy silently cursed to himself, obviously wondering why he was in Mexico and not Costa Rica, and then they left. I met some other locals who were actually pretty cool and we went to another bar called "Azucar" to watch some live music. It was pretty cool, and the Mexican band did a faithful cover of "Another Brick in the Wall" by the Floyd. Then we all proved our manhood, I think, by putting cigarettes out of the backs of our hands and then I went home.
Well, I'm sick of typing, so I'm going to get some waffles and go snorkeling! Wish me luck!
Talkin' to ya later,
Seamus
For one, it has been rainy, and when it's not rainy it's cloudy. It clears up, sort of, for about two hours each day and you have to make the best of it or wait until tomorrow. I have been having a bit of fun, though, and it hasn't been entirely bad.
The first night I was here, I was looking to meet a few people. It's hard to meet people here, because there are only hotels and no hostels where travelers congregate. I did manage to meet a group of people from Minnesota, because everyone here is from Minnesota. They were a kind of older group, mid-thirties and above, but I shot the shit with a guy who was cool and reminded me of my friend Nate I had met on my travels in Costa Rica. That was the height of my night, and I passed out watching TV in my hotel room later on.
The next day, I rented a scooter. It costs twenty five bucks, but I paid for all the insurance options, which I didn't need, to save myself the possibility of a hassle and ended up paying forty bucks total. I had a blast on it, even though it would only get up to 80km an hour (trust me, I tried to get it to go faster). I went half way around the island, stopping at a couple of beaches and having a hamburger along the way. I couldn't go all the way around the island, because the only way led to a wet sand road which the moped could not drive on (once again, I tried, and it was a little scary). On the way back, it got really dark as there were no streetlights on the road. It was a newly built road, but there were rocks set up in certain parts to keep cars driving on it, which I had to dodge. I also had to dodge crabs and small insects. The crabs were pretty damn big, but the insects were the really scary part. It's one thing driving at 60km per hour and feeling the little bugs hit you, which stings, but when a something huge smacks you in the side, you think it's something like a bat or a bird or something. I was yelling into the night for thirty seconds before I turned around to find whatever it was that I had bowled over. It turned out to be a huge moth, still laying unconscious in the road, and I snapped some pictures of the beast after proclaiming "You got the fuck knocked out!" I then continued down the road, dodging crabs and rocks when it happened again! at this point I decided to get the hell out of there and go a bit more slowly. I only stopped one more time, to chase a particularly gnarly crab and to take some video of these fireflys I had seen, and then went home and had a shower.
Later on that night, I went out in search of dollar beers. I ended up meeting some locals, who tried to sell me cocaine. I refused, and told them about the coke in Costa Rica, which is ten dollars a gram and pure as snow. The guy silently cursed to himself, obviously wondering why he was in Mexico and not Costa Rica, and then they left. I met some other locals who were actually pretty cool and we went to another bar called "Azucar" to watch some live music. It was pretty cool, and the Mexican band did a faithful cover of "Another Brick in the Wall" by the Floyd. Then we all proved our manhood, I think, by putting cigarettes out of the backs of our hands and then I went home.
Well, I'm sick of typing, so I'm going to get some waffles and go snorkeling! Wish me luck!
Talkin' to ya later,
Seamus
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